Former child genius jailed for credit card scam

Mark Russell

A former child genius who turned to crime to feed his heroin addiction has been jailed for at least 20 months on fraud and theft charges.

County Court judge Carolyn Douglas said on Wednesday that Adam Weishaupt was an intelligent and manipulative person who had successfully played the system for his own ends.

"This is also reflected in the sophistication of the offending, which involved a clever and complicated plan which was carefully carried out," Judge Douglas said.

Weishaupt was considered a child genius at the age of two when he could recite the alphabet forwards and backwards, and by the time he was seven he had the reading age of a child of 12.

He changed his name by deed poll when he was 18 from Christopher Hopley to that of 18th-century German philosopher Adam Weishaupt,who led a movement of republican free thought known as the Illuminati.

His mother, Amanda Hopley, claimed he had a gift with numbers similar to that of the character played by Dustin Hoffman in the movie Rain Man.

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Weishaupt, 31, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $85,000 by deceiving banks into giving him victims' credit card details when he was 19.

Police planned to charge him with card-skimming in 2006, but he had moved to South Australia. He was arrested when he returned to Victoria last year after his mother was diagnosed with cancer.

Judge Douglas said Weishaupt told a psychiatrist his parents had separated before he was born and his life with his mother had been chaotic as she worked for the air force and they moved regularly around Australia.

"You attended various schools as a result of the moves, but you were an intelligent young man and you were bored," the judge said. "You were interested in quantum mechanics, philosophy and theology."

The first time he broke the law was when he was 13, weeks after the death of his beloved uncle Christopher Hopley.

His life spiralled out of control after he left school at 14. He became a father two years later when living on the streets and had about 400 convictions for dishonesty by 2003. He had his first taste of heroin while in juvenile detention.

Judge Douglas said Weishaupt never had any significant employment and had been receiving a disability support pension for 10 years after being diagnosed with schizophrenia.

But the judge said psychiatrist Dr Clare McInerney did not believe he had schizophrenia.

"She [Dr McInerney] reported that you present with unusual and dramatic beliefs, a history of fraud and obtaining material items and services through deception, which had been present throughout your life," Judge Douglas said.

"It remains uncertain, in her view, whether you have a major mental illness such as schizophrenia. However, her view is that you do not ...

"Dr McInerney reported that she has not identified any other relevant mental disorder and ... that you may have a personality disorder, although she is unclear what disorder you might have.

"She reported that your history of substance misuse leads to more chaotic thoughts and behaviour and reduced social functioning. However, she does not believe substance abuse alone can explain your presentation.

"Her conclusion was that she cannot find evidence that any of your reported symptoms and observable behaviour could be considered a valid contributory factor to your offending."

Weishaupt was jailed for three years with a non-parole period of 20 months.